Category Archives: local news

local news

Highway work: a Texas thing

DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas — Forget high school football, or fried beer that they peddle at the state fair in Dallas, or the 12th Man that fills the stadium in College Station.

The newest “Texas thing” has to be the highway construction projects that disrupt traffic flow in virtually every corner of this vast state.

I returned to Dripping Springs in the Hill County to introduce Sabol, my new puppy, to members of our family.

The road work here does not end. I doubt it ever will. If and when it does, I’ll likely be underground for eternity.

US Highway 290 is getting a second deck above the existing thoroughfare. I understand the state wants to build a no-exit thoroughfare through what they call “The Y” along 290. The existing highway will remain and local motorists can exit whenever they want.

I have done my share of griping about the work occurring in North Texas along US 380. We are not alone! Yes, other parts of the state are going through much of what we’re enduring in the Metroplex.

I now will vow to avoid griping too loudly about future highway projects at home. It’s a Texas thing … you know?

local news

I missed you, Internet

Once in a while, you lose something you know is important to your life but that somehow you remain reluctant to admit its value.

The Internet tanked at my North Texas hone for most of the day Monday., It came back overnight and I am posting this brief item simply to acknowledge that, by golly, I missed the sucker and all it provides for me.

My cell phone service cratered as well. I had to leave the house, drive a few blocks away to make a phone call. No biggie. The rest of the info I collect during the day was out of reach.

I never thought I’d say this, but I did miss having the Internet available to me. It’s back.

I am whole again!

local news

Stand tall, Farmersville!

I want to offer a brief blog bouquet to a community I have gotten to know and, frankly, gotten to admire.

Farmersville sits along US 380 about seven miles east of Princeton, where I have lived for the past five years. I went to Farmersville today to take part in a brief event marking Old Time Saturday, an annual event that clogs the downtown square with booths selling all manner of goods, goodies and services.

I discovered long ago that Farmersville is a community proud of its tradition and it shows itself off whenever possible. Old Time Saturday draws vendors from all over North and Northeast Texas. The historic downtown square is festooned laughter, excitement and good times and fun.

Farmersville also celebrates every June the life and heroics of its adopted favorite son, Medal of Honor recipient Audie Murphy, who 79 years ago saved a French village virtually single-handedly from the assault of Nazi troops near the end of World War II. It is not clear whether Murphy spent much time in Farmersville, but he insisted on putting the name of the community on his dog tags when he enlisted for duty in the Army. That was good enough to persuade the city elders that “he is one of us.”

The city honors his memory every year for a weekend in June commemorating what he did in Holzwhir, France.

I was able to donate a pint of blood today and was proud to do so to help the city honor its heritage.

Farmersville does a good job setting the pace for how other communities — including Princeton — can honor their history.

local news

Get ready for traffic collapse?

This information comes from a North Texas public school administration, a fellow I trust to be truthful and one who isn’t prone to spreading vicious rumors.

It goes like this: He has heard from a leading Princeton public official that U.S. Highway 380 is going to narrow to one lane of traffic each way (east and west) while the state widens the highway from four lanes to six.

I am not going to name any names here, because I cannot confirm it. I already knew about the Texas Department of Transportation plans to widen 380. It’s been in all the papers. What I didn’t know was that to widen the highway from four lanes to six it has to narrow the traffic lanes from four to two.

The traffic along 380 is becoming the stuff of legends in this part of Texas. Damn near everyone I know who lives near me — neighbors, assorted friends and acquaintances, my mail carrier — all complain about the traffic.

This new development, though, is going to require me to find alternate routes heading east and west out of Princeton. The westbound alternative might be easier to identify.

Absent that alternative, I fear the Mother of All Traffic Nightmares is going to visit us in Collin County … and she won’t go away quietly.

local news

Jet lag isn’t permanent … but still

A strange notion came over me yesterday morning, one that suggested I had whipped the jet lag that plagued me since my return from a nine-day trip to Greece.

Silly me. It seems to be rallying inside this 74-year-old body of mine.

This is worth mentioning briefly because in all the international travel I have enjoyed over many years, jet lag hardly ever has been a problem I cannot shake.

This time it’s different.

I am going to attribute this stubborn case of jet lag to a couple of factors.

One is that I am generally sleep-deprived. I have had trouble getting a good night’s sleep for the past three or four years. Therefore, when I should be sleeping on an airplane … I am not! Among the many ways I heard to fend off jet lag, this one makes the most sense: Try to sleep on a jetliner when it’s bedtime at home.

Maybe next time.

Another factor is uncomfortable seats in the poor man’s economy class ticket I purchased. Don’t let the airlines fool you: Economy class seats are not comfy. The discomfort I felt on both long-distance legs of my journey has compelled me to declare that any future international airborne travel will be on a jetliner equipped with business class.

I’ll have to budget for it, plan ahead, because I know the biz class seats can cost me an arm and both legs.

So … I am fighting jet leg at this moment as I conclude this brief post.

What now? I’ll finish it. Post it.  Then I’ll take another nap. I can whip this.

local news

Moratorium imposed … for now

Princeton’s city council has taken an action that I wasn’t sure it would take … it has voted to impose a temporary ban on residential construction.

The council will take a final vote on a proposed ordinance next month.

You know what? I think the city has acted wisely. Four months might not be long enough, though, for the city to obtain the infrastructure it says it needs to serve the thousands of people who want to make Princeton their home.

Police Chief Jim Waters says he needs to hire 30 more police officers to protect and serve the city’s burgeoning population. The city needs to build more water towers to help regulate water pressure. And the city surely needs to finish its massive street repair and maintenance projects.

Princeton now is home to an estimated 33,000 residents, roughly double the number of humans counted for the 2020 Census. The number continues to skyrocket.

Mayor Brianna Chacon broached the subject of a moratorium a few months ago, saying the city has grown “too fast.”

So, the city has decided to put the brakes on its residential construction. It’s a short-term ban. Let’s hope it is sufficient to allow Princeton to catch its breath.

local news

Getting used to a pooch

Even though it hasn’t been too terribly long since I lost Toby the Puppy to cancer — and I should be familiar with a pooch’s particular behavior– I am finding that those pooch-handling skills had gotten a bit rusty.

I now have Sabol prancing through my North Texas home. I anticipate a smooth transition to a dog-friendly environment for my newest family member. She is 6 years old and needs to shed some weight.

I do have some quite good news to report: the distance between Sabol and our kitties, Marlowe and Macy, is closing. The cats seem increasingly comfortable sharing their home space with Sabol. As for the puppy? Pfffttt! She couldn’t care less what they think or what territory they claim as their own.

Meantime, I am having to get used to tending to a puppy’s needs. That’s never been an issue in all the years my wife and I were exclusively kitty parents.

I’m getting the hang of it.

local news

Pooch makes progress

I want to be clear that I do not intend to write about every little moment of progress that my new pooch, Sabol, demonstrates as she learns to navigate her way through her new house,

I just want to share a couple of things for those who care about this journey I’ve taken.

Sabol moved in with my son, our kitties and me. She sprinted out the front door on Day One. I had to run after her.  I am more alert now to her presence when I open the door.

I put food out for her. Guess what … she’s eaten a good bit of it. I worried that she might be so unsettled that she wouldn’t want to eat it. She’s settling just fine.

Sabol also has figured out how to work the doggy door.

Sabol tonight has stared down our kitties, Macy and Marlowe did not sprint to the farthest place in the house as I thought they might. Sabol’s reaction? No problem. She knows this is their house, just as the kitties got schooled by Toby the Puppy when they moved in more than a year ago,

Bottom line? It’s all going to work out just fine.

local news

Welcome to our family, Sable

Listen up, ladies and gentlemen, for I am about to announce an important decision in my life and in the life of my family.

I have just welcomed a new pooch into my house. She is Sable, a 6-year-old mix of … something, and I have no clue about her ancestry.

I have a ton of good news to report about Sable. First, and with apologies to Sally Field, she likes me, she really likes me. Second, she loves traveling on the road. Third, she settled down right away in my truck when I welcomed her into my family.

You know the story of Toby the Puppy and the devastating loss I suffered at the end of 2023 when cancer took him. He was 9 and had become the perfect companion. Sable won’t replace Toby, but I am going to say right here that she is off to a good start in charting her own course.

Her previous family member told me she is overweight and a bit disheviled. I can take care of both of those issues.

I am looking forward to getting re-acclimated with a pooch around the house.

Oh … one more thing. I have been advised Sable “really loves cats.” Be on guard, Macy and Marlowe.

local news

Back to the villa … and then home!

MIKRI VIGLA, Greece — Well, gang, I am on my own in one of the most gorgeous places I ever have seen.

My cousin and her son have departed for another Greek island paradise, in Santorini. I am here on Naxos for another day before I started my trek back to North Texas.

My drive back from Naxos port took me along a stretch of road we hadn’t yet seen. My GPS wasn’t working because my “smart phone” was disconnected from the Internet. So, I followed my instincts traveled south, keeping the blue Aegean Sea water on my right.

Not long into my drive back to the villa, I thought: What difference does any of this make if I get back sooner rather than later? I have all day to make the drive.

I was in no hurry.

Tomorrow morning will be different. I have Internet here. I can map my route to the port and then follow the directions “the voice” lays out for me. But again, my instinct tells me to keep the ocean on my left going the other way. I’ll have a ferry to catch and then a cab ride to the hotel where I will spend the night near the Athens airport … before heading to the house.

This clearly has been the most relaxing vacation I’ve ever taken … in my entire life. 

I’ve had a moment or two of sadness realizing my bride isn’t here to share it with me. However, I have completed my journey from darkness to light and I am carrying Kathy Anne in my heart.

Now it’s back to the real world. My tanned, rested and ready self is up to the challenge.